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Internal and external coaches: key differences
Internal coaches: potential advantages:
- They know the culture and understand the demands of the organisation and the industry in which it operates
- They are readily available and are not balancing the demands of other clients
- They can be involved in creating a coaching culture in the organisation - their presence in the organisation helps staff at all levels become more aware of coaching.
Internal coaches: possible disadvantages:
- Because they are part of the culture they may sometimes lack objectivity
- Many in-house coaches have other responsibilities. The skills of a good coach may not sit well with some individuals from HR, management or elsewhere in the organisation, so there may be variable quality in the coaching.
External coaches: potential advantages:
- They bring an objectivity and outsider perspective that comes from not being part of or necessarily knowing the industry, the individuals involved or the company culture.
- They are purely there to coach. They do not have other responsibilities in the organisation or other vested interests
- Sometimes senior executives prefer to work with an external coach for reasons of confidentiality and undivided attention.
- For the same reason, some senior executives don’t want to share their coach with their colleagues. External coaches can be contracted to work with a number of staff or with just one individual.
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